The gasket employed in face-seal fittings in the prior art were either in the form of simple circular annuluses, the shape of which provided no aid in alignment or in sealing or they involved a substantial surface or area of the gasket projecting inside the seal defining crevices which were subject to the problem of entrapping material from the fluid carried by the fitting in which the gasket was employed.
The gasket of the present invention improves over the gaskets of the prior art in that it has a shape which causes the elements of the fitting to align with the gasket so that a uniform sealing force on both sides of the gasket is achieved. Moreover, sealing is provided in a single line contact which enables a maximum sealing force to be applied on each side of the gasket. These advantages are provided while at the same time having a minimum area of the gasket project into the fluid stream so that there is little or no area for entrapping material from fluid flowing through the fitting.
When the gasket of the present invention is used in a face-seal fitting, the number of times that the sealing connection at the gasket can be remade with the same parts is increased. This is very important when one of the members to which the gasket is making a sealing engagement is a gland welded to connecting tubing, because when such a gland has to be replaced, it involves considerable expense.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved gasket for face-seal fittings.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved gasket which is less subject to the problem of entrapment of materials from the fluid flowing through the gasket.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved gasket which provides automatic axial alignment between the fitting and the gasket.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved gasket which provides single line contact between the fitting and the gasket.
A further object of the invention is to increase the number of times that a sealing engagement may be remade in a fitting without require replacement of the elements of the sealing engagement because of wear.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent as the following detailed description of the invention unfolds and when taken into conjunction with the drawings.